1. Field of the Invention:
This invention relates to a package for the storage of a plastic medical container. More particularly, this invention relates to a package for the storage of a plastic medical container such as a blood bag or a transfusion solution bag which contains therein a medicinal fluid.
2. Description of Prior Arts:
Plastic medical containers such as blood bag and transfusion bag contain therein anticoagulants such as ACD solution and CPD solution which serve to prevent the blood from being coagulated during collection or transfusion of blood. The medical containers containing such chemical solutions are stowed in tightly closed containers of synthetic resin designed exclusively for the purpose of storage. Since the medical containers are made of plastic materials and therefore are pervious to gases, there is a possibility that oxygen gas, for example, will penetrate through these containers and pass into the chemical solutions contained therein to cause oxidative degradation of the chemical solutions. The wetting components, particularly the moisture, present in the chemical solutions penetrate through the walls of the containers and add to the humidity within the packages. If aerobic microorganisms survive by some reason or other within the chemical solutions, there ensues an inevitable possibility that microorganisms, which collect on the surface of the containers between the time these containers are manufactured and the time they are put to use will gain in growth because of the heightened humidity.
It has been recently proposed to place a deoxidizer tightly closed containers to effect quick fall of the concentration of oxygen within the tightly closed containers and prevent the contents of the containers from oxidation. As a tightly closed container suited to the proposed prevention of its contents from oxidation, there has been proposed a bag shaped container which is obtained by vacuum depositing aluminum on the opposed surfaces of two superposed polyester type resin sheets and heat sealing the corresponding peripheries of the two sheets through the medium of a hot melt type adhesive agent (Japanese Published Unexamined Patent No. SHO 53(1978)-113693). Since the bag-shaped container is deficient in a shape-retaining property,the inner volume of the container decreases and the walls of the bag sink as the oxygen therein is gradually absorbed by the deoxidizer. When the contents held in the container and the walls of the container adhere fast to the surfaces of the deoxidizer, the absorption of oxygen by the deoxidizer fails to proceed at the expected rate and the concentration of oxygen in the container fails to fall to the prescribed level (less than 0.1%/50 hrs.), frequently with the result that microorganisms which by chance have found their way into the containers in the course of fabrication will enjoy growth in the presence of oxygen. Further, the bag-shaped container has an inferior shape-retaining property, it tends to inconvenience various handling works for storage. When such bag-shaped containers are piled up during storage or in transit, they collapse and bring about adverse effects upon their contents. When the container is molded three-dimensionally, since the conditions involved in the molding deform and crack the conventional barrier layers formed of aluminum, for example, to intercept gases and steam, the container is destitute of a gas barrier property.
It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide a novel package for storage of a plastic medical container. Another object of this invention is to provide a package excelling in shape-retaining property, gas barrier property, and steam barrier property and used for the storage of a medical container holding a medicinal fluid therein. Yet another object of this invention is to provide a package excelling in heat sealability and peel openability and used for the storage of a medical container.